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Minimising Your Tax & MaximisingYour Wealth

Recognising genuine HMRC contact

Newsletter issue - November 2019.

Broadly, phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising oneself as a trustworthy source in an electronic communication. This is generally carried out by email spoofing or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter personal information at a fake website which matches the look and feel of the legitimate site.

Most people are aware of the increase in volume and sophistication of phishing campaigns in recent years, but worryingly, there has also been a notable rise in reported incidents of phone calls and/or electronic communications from people claiming to be HMRC.

So, how can you recognise what is genuine HMRC contact and what are phishing, or bogus emails and text messages?

Electronic communications

HMRC never send notifications by email about tax repayments or refunds. Therefore, if an email is received along these lines the recipient should not:

visit the website;

open any attachments; or

disclose any personal or payment information.

Fraudsters may spoof a genuine email address or change the 'display name' to make it appear genuine. If you are unsure, forward it to HMRC (phishing@hmrc.gov.uk) and delete it.

HMRC will never ask for personal or financial information when they send text messages. If you do receive a text message claiming to be from HMRC offering a tax refund in exchange for personal or financial details do not open any links in the message. Send any phishing text messages to 60599 (network charges apply) or email phishing@hmrc.gov.uk then delete it.

HMRC are aware of a phishing campaign telling customers they need to 'download a PDF attachment' to get a tax refund. The PDF attachment contains a link to a phishing site asking for personal or financial information. Do not reply to the email or download the attachment. A recent scam has also been identified on Twitter offering a tax refund.

Details have recently emerged of an automated phone call scam which informs the listener that HMRC are filing a lawsuit against them, and to press one to speak to a caseworker to make a payment. This scam has been widely reported and often targets elderly and vulnerable people. Other scam calls may offer a tax refund and request the listener to provide bank or credit card information

Anyone who has been a victim of the scam and suffered financial loss should report it to Action Fraud.

In summary, never give out private information (such as bank details or passwords), reply to text messages, download attachments or click on any links in emails if you're not sure they're genuine.

What our clients say about us...

"Paul has provided accountancy services to my company for 2 years now. I can recommend Paul very highly; his skills as an accountant are highly detailed and professional and he is always available to provide advice. One aspect of the way Paul works that I greatly appreciate is a preference to meet face to face when there is a detailed conversation to be had. I personally find this more productive and is a benefit of working with a small accountancy firm that you wouldn't get with the large faceless providers."

"I couldn't ask for more from Paul as an Accountant. Paul has been accountant to Work Relief Charity Recruitment for just over a year now and is proving an invaluable asset. Accurate, knowledgeable, flexible with an emphasis on service delivery, I would recommend Paul's services to any organisation looking for an accounts professional."

Neil Price - Managing Director at Work Relief Charity Recruitment

"Paul was a referral from a family member when I started my business 2 years ago. As this was the first time I had ever run my own company I was totally clueless over the financial side of matters and was worried that I may have made mistakes in any of my accounting. I needn't have worried as after enaging Paul for a set monthly fee he was always there on the end of the phone for all sorts of questions I had and no matter how trivial they were Paul gave me all the information I required and more and did an excellent and painless job at the end of my first year! Couldn't ask for any better to be honest. Just two words - hire him!!!"